HSG Ethnography Talks

The HSG Ethnography Talks have emerged as an initiative by three anthropologists who have found themselves in an inspiring interdisciplinary setting of the School for Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) at the HSG. With the goal to make use of synergies this unique setting offers, we decided to use the notion of Ethnography as a focal point for an anthropological- transdisciplinary conversation.
We understand ethnography as an interplay of ethnographic fieldwork and a commitment to ethnographic theory and writing, primarily developed and practiced by anthropologists and sociologists, but also widely used in other fields of knowledge such as Human Geography, Media Studies or STS. Both fundamental and contested, due to its transdisciplinary scope ethnography figures as a prime platform for conversations about methodological and epistemological issues in contemporary social and cultural sciences.
The goal of the colloquium is to gather anthropologists and colleagues from Sociology Philosophy, History, Technology Studies and other fields of knowledge at the SHSS as well as invited (international) guest speakers to reflect upon ongoing and future research as well as wider methodological/epistemological issues.
By focusing in depth on why and how one does ethnography; where ethnography starts and where it ends; if and how one could make use of ethnography in own research; and finally, why one decides for other methodological approaches will not only enable conversations on particular research topics. Moreover, the HSG Ethnography Talks will represent a platform for a joint and critical reflection on issues such as power and (different kinds of) knowledge, research ethics, personal dimensions of research, societal relevance and impact of research etc.